Paula Goulart Pinheiro Machado

The impact of ethnic miscegenation on tacrolimus clinical pharmacokinetics and therapeutic drug monitoring.

Abstract: The impact of ethnic miscegenation on tacrolimus clinical pharmacokinetics and therapeutic drug monitoring. We sought to determine the influence of ethnic miscegenation on tacrolimus pharmacokinetics and trough concentrations during the first 6 months after transplantation.

Concentration-controlled use of sirolimus associated with reduced exposure of cyclosporine in black recipients of primarily living renal allograft donors : 12-month results

Abstract:  Aim:  This study was designed to identify optimal therapeutic sirolimus (SRL) concentrations in black kidney transplant recipients on reduced cyclosporine (CsA) exposure and prednisone.

Priority for children in cadaveric kidney sharing: The strategy adopted in Sao Paulo, Brazil

Abstract:  Early kidney transplantation is crucial in order to accomplish both optimal mental development and the best adult height in children with end‐stage renal disease. The aim was to evaluate the efficacy of the child priority policy for cadaveric kidney sharing adopted in the State of Sao Paulo (Brazil). We performed a retrospective study of data collected by the Government Transplant Department in São Paulo, involving all patients included in the waiting list from August 13, 1998 to December 31, 2001. During the study period, the child priority policy had been changed giving: period A – from the outset up to March 14, 2001, where the rule was to direct cadaveric kidneys obtained from children <12 yr, to recipients <12 yr; period B – from March 14, 2001 onwards, where the policy had been broadened to include cadaveric donors <18 yr, destined for recipients <18 yr. We performed the analysis of the data comprising 8940 patients, 8622 being adults (mean age = 48.6 ± 14.1 yr, 3594 females) and 318 children (mean age = 11.9 ± 5.1 yr, 156 females). Over the 3.5‐yr follow‐up there were 1964 deaths [1933 adults and 31 children, odds ratio (OR) 0.37; 95% CI 0.25–0.55], 1032 living donor kidney transplants (963 adults and 69 children, OR 2.20; 95% CI 1.66–2.93), and 556 cadaveric kidney transplants (444 adults and 112 children, OR 10.11; 95% CI 7.75–12.94). Three and a half years after being enrolled on the list, 24% of the children and 75% of the adults, respectively, were still awaiting a cadaveric kidney transplant (log rank test = 539, p < 0.00001). The analysis of period A vs. period B, suggests that the raising of the inclusion age upper limit to 18 yr, resulted in a twofold increase in the percentage of children being grafted within 6 months of enrollment. Overall, our data shows a slow rate of cadaveric kidney transplantation activity in Sao Paulo. Childrens chances of receiving a living donor kidney almost doubled. Moreover, 19.5% of pediatric recipients had received their kidney within the first year of being enrolled on the waiting list. The scheme adopted in Sao Paulo is encouraging, but the results remain less favorable than those observed in other countries. The adoption of the priority policy did not result in an unacceptable increase of adult waiting time, given that the number of adults on our waiting list outweighs by far the number of children.

Cystatin C and renal function in pediatric kidney transplant recipients

In clinical practice, the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is often determined with serum creatinine. However, studies have shown cystatin C to be a better parameter for the diagnosis of impaired renal function. We compared GFR estimated by plasma cystatin C with GFR estimated by serum creatinine in a sample of 50 pediatric renal transplant recipients and 24 healthy children. The correlation between GFR estimated by serum creatinine and by cystatin C was significant (r = 0.75; P < 0.001, Persons correlation); however, in pediatric kidney transplant recipients, the GFR was 6.7 mL/min lower when determined using cystatin C rather than serum creatinine. Moreover, using GFR estimated by cystatin C we found that 42% of the pediatric kidney transplant recipients had an estimated GFR <60 mL.min-1.1.73 (m(2))-1, whereas when GFR was estimated by the serum creatinine formula only 16% of the children had values below this cutoff point indicative of chronic kidney disease (P < 0.001). We conclude that, in pediatric kidney transplant recipients, estimation of GFR yields lower values when cystatin C is used rather than serum creatinine.

Influência da hipertensão na sobrevida do enxerto renal em pacientes pediátricos

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the effect of 1 year systemic arterial hypertension on 3-year allograft survival in children with kidney transplantation. METHODS: A retrospective study was carried out of pediatric patients submitted to kidney transplantation at the Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo (UNIFESP) between January, 1998 and January, 2003. Patients were classified as normotensive or hypertensive according to presence of hypertension within the first year after transplantation. Survival analyses were performed with the Kaplan-Meier survival method, and survival curves were compared with the log-rank test. A p value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Prior to transplantation there were 86 patients (64%) and after 1 year, 70 children (52%) were classified as hypertensive, respectively. Overall, the 3-year graft survival was of 92.5%. Survival of the normotensive group was 95.3% and 90.0% for the hypertensive group; the difference was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Although the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant the higher survival of the normotensive group seems to be clinically significant and allows hypothesizing that arterial hypertension could be a risk factor for pediatric graft survival. However, due to limitations of the study it is impossible to affirm that hypertension is an independent risk factor for lower graft survival.